Bacon Wrapped Dates & Goat Cheese

Bacon Wrapped Dates & Goat Cheese are sweet dates stuffed with goat cheese and almonds, then wrapped in bacon and rolled in brown sugar. They’re sweet, savory, and the perfect appetizer to bring to your next party!

Bacon Wrapped Dates & Goat Cheese

We’re coming into the holiday season, which also means that appetizer season is starting. Hooray! And I have the perfect appetizer for you. Bacon Wrapped Dates & Goat Cheese are sweet, salty, and wrapped in everybody’s favorite food, bacon. They’re also really simple to make, but look like they took hours to make. If you’re looking for something that looks fancy, takes minimal effort, and tastes like heaven on earth, you’re going to love these!

How To Make This Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe

This bacon wrapped dates recipe is so easy to make, that even a first-time chef could do it. Here’s how to make them in a few simple steps:

Cut open the dates, or cut them in half.

Place a bit of goat cheese and some almond pieces inside the date and close it.

Wrap the date with bacon, roll it in brown sugar.

Bake.

That’s it! 4 easy peasy steps that anyone could do. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of cutting the dates open, you can also add the goat cheese to a piping bag and fill the dates that way. Personally, I don’t want to get the decorating bags out for this one. But that’s your choice!

Soon this bacon wrapped dates recipe will become your go-to for any occasion that needs appetizers!

Why do we do the bacon wrapped dates brown sugar coating?

Not only does the brown sugar add a really nice deep layer of flavor, but the bacon wrapped dates brown sugar coating caramelizes in the oven. This gives them the best golden brown color you’re ever going to see on an appetizer. It also adds a different kind of sweetness to the dates, which takes these to a whole new level of delicious.

What exactly is a date?

Good question! As it turns out, dates actually come from a palm tree that is native to the middle east. They grow in bunches, similar to grapes. It’s pretty interesting!

Why are these goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon?

Goat cheese has an incredibly creamy texture and a mild taste and a slight tangy note. It works really well in goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon because of that mild flavor. It compliments the sweetness of the dates and the saltiness of the bacon. Plus the slight tangy flavor of the cheese brings a little something extra that you won’t get with other cheeses. I talk more about goat cheese over here on my Sweet Potato Rounds post.

What is a good substitute for goat cheese?

I have a hard time answering this one, mostly because there really isn’t an exact substitute for goat cheese. The best I can do is send you in the direction of cheeses with similar texture and a mild flavor. For these goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, I would suggest either marscapone cheese, cream cheese, or ricotta.

On the other hand, you can easily substitute cream cheese or marscapone for goat’s milk. Which is one of the many reasons why I love goat milk cheese.

If you’re looking for a dairy free option, I am partial to almond milk cheeses. They have a more mild flavor than soy-based cheese, and you don’t get the weird aftertaste. You can also try vegan cream cheese, to get the creamy texture, as a good substitute for goat cheese.

Bacon Wrapped Dates & Goat Cheese are sweet dates stuffed with goat cheese and almonds, then wrapped in bacon and rolled in brown sugar. They're sweet, savory, and the perfect appetizer to bring to your next party!

Servings: 48servings

Calories: 50kcal

Author: DishingDelish.com

Ingredients

5ozgoat cheese

1lbpitted dates

1lbbaconcut in half

1/2cuplight brown sugar

1/2cupalmondschopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut dates in half. Place some goat cheese and a pinch of almonds in the middle and close the date. Wrap a piece of bacon around the date, roll in brown sugar, and place a toothpick through to hold in place.

Place dates on baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bacon is cooked through and golden brown.

Recipe Notes

If your bacon is not browning the way you'd like, you can put the bacon wrapped dates under the broiler for 1-2 minutes. Be careful, the broiler can burn things quickly! So keep a close eye on them.